


Prompt 13 (Duke 2)

by Yoselin



Series: Villainous Nights Prompts [14]
Category: Villainous Nights (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 01:59:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15876159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yoselin/pseuds/Yoselin
Summary: Originally posted to Tumblr.“You make me feel safe.”





	Prompt 13 (Duke 2)

“It’s really not that bad,” Duke protests for the hundredth time. He tilts his head to the side to be able to look at me better as I wrap the gauze around his bicep. There’s a nasty cut there, a leftover from the skirmish we got into at Optimus, and I’m trying to patch him up despite his protests.   
I bite my lip as the gauze I’m wrapping stains red before I even have a chance to finish binding it.   
“It looks worse,” I correct.   
Duke moves his arm much to my dismay and tries to hide the way his cheek muscle jumps out in pain. He is injured, the wound really hurts, but he is too prideful to admit it. Duke always likes to downplay his injuries and hide them from me, but God forbid I do the same.   
“I’ll be fine,” Duke argues. He moves away from me so that he can face me. He is perched on the bathroom sink and I am to his side.   
Now facing me directly, I can see another cut on the side of his neck. This one is not as bad and some antiseptic spray will be enough.   
“Just let me take care of you, please?”  
I pinch his cheek affectionately and bite my lip. I don’t like seeing him hurt for my sake. Tonight’s mission wasn’t _bad_ , the Syndicate has fought worse, but it did leave all of us a little worse for wear. Duke took most of the damage, focused on protecting his team, and now he wants to hide how injured he really is.   
I can tell he wants to protest some more, argue with me making a fuss, but he must sense my desperation. I won’t be able to sleep tonight until I am sure he is okay. I need to assess the injuries he received for myself just to give myself some peace of mind.   
A sigh leaves his lips but he obediently moves his chin up exposing the small cut there. It’s superficial and I get to work spraying it. To his credit, Duke doesn’t wince.   
“Next time Optimus surrounds us, try not to take the brunt of it yourself,” I murmur under my breath. My fingers trace the edges of his neck looking for more bruises or scratches.   
I feel the vibrations of his throat when he speaks next.   
“Are you injured?” Duke asks.   
His eyes sweep over my form as if searching for wounds.   
I shake my head in answer and reach my fingers under his shirt. A light tug at the fabric is all it takes for him to get the message. He raises his arms and pulls the shirt up and off.   
My breath hitches despite myself to see him shirtless, but I push through the twinge of excitement that rises within me. There is a large red bruise on his side that looks painful and a few more scratches dot the plains of his stomach.   
“I’m not injured, but you definitely are,” I grind my teeth together.   
My hand reaches to his side where the red bruise is slowly turning purple. I trace the skin there until I see his jaw clench in pain. Immediately, I withdraw my hand.   
“Nothing’s broken?” I ask. My hands go for the ice pack to one side.   
He shakes his head no. I press the ice to his side with one hand and trace the muscles in his abdomen with the other. I start off searching for more bruises but end up merely tracing the lines of his body.   
Duke may be a villain but perhaps the most criminal thing he has ever done is hide his body in sweaters and overcoats.   
I hear him chuckle under his breath and his hand takes my fingers in his own. I worry I have projected my thoughts again but push it aside; after all, he already knows how much I love his body. My fingers are raised to his lips and he brushes kisses there. A blush rises on my face and I tug my hand away out of embarrassment.   
“Your lip is bruised.”  
There is a small bruise to the corner of his mouth that will make kissing him difficult later on. I tilt his head to the side to get a better look at it in the bathroom light.   
“Your cheek is a little swollen,” Duke counters. He reaches his hand for my cheek and I feel his skin get colder. He keeps his hand on the side of my face trying to soothe the injury with the powers.   
“That’ll come in handy,” I whisper.   
A little smirk rises on Duke’s lips and he looks away.   
“You do enjoy my powers,” he remarks. I catch the suggestion shining in his eyes.   
My face heats up and I worry he’ll feel it under his hand. I move my head away from him and pretend to look annoyed. Truly, he’s right. I enjoy his powers for several different reasons, but I will never admit that to him.   
I poke at his cheek playfully where I know he is not injured and glower. Rather than counter verbally, I project my thoughts into his head as scolding as I can make them-which isn’t ever scolding.   
_And you like mine too. Hush._  
I finish my assessment of his body and realize I have patched up every injury. A small sigh leaves my lips and I puff a breath to move a strand of hair out of my face. My hand reaches to brush back his hair absentmindedly.   
“Does anything else hurt?” I ask.   
“No, I’m fine,” Duke answers. One arm comes to rest around my waist and he tugs me to his side.   
I sink into his embrace and take in the scent of him. He smells like iron, a remnant of the blood gathering on his wounds, but he also smells like _Duke_ and I love that scent. I bury my head into the side of his neck where I can feel the beat of his pulse. Duke’s own grip tightens on me and I feel his face press into my hair.   
We stay like that for a moment, relaxed in each other’s embrace, and I close my eyes.   
I don’t like having to patch up Duke. Tonight’s injuries were not that bad, but tomorrow’s could be worse. I always worry for his safety when he fights. He is the kind of man that will charge into a fight to protect his team but get angry at them for doing the same for him. The heart in his chest knows no bounds when it comes to the people he loves. I only wish he loved himself enough to put himself first sometimes.   
“Don’t scare me like that again,” I draw away so that I can meet his gaze, “Please? No more fighting Optimus squads by yourself.”  
He holds my gaze steady, blue eyes burning with affection and love and so much more, and then he looks away. There’s some color to his cheeks, a blush, and I wonder if it is due to our proximity or the weight of my request.   
One of his hands goes to the back of my head and the other to my waist. He moves his face and brushes his lips past mine. He tastes of mint and I lift my own hand up to the back of his neck to pull him closer.   
When he moves away, he pushes a strand of my hair behind my ear.   
“I promise,” he whispers.   
There’s truth in his eyes and I know he’ll try. Problem is, trying is not the same as doing. I know better than to expect Duke to just stand by and wait for the people he cares about to fight. If he could, he’d take on Optimus all by himself if it would mean his Syndicate to not have to be hurt. And I love him for that, love him for the sacrifice and love he has in heart, but it also frustrates me to no end.   
Still, I don’t want to fight him on it tonight, he’s fought enough as it is, so I resign myself to just leaning into his embrace. His arms are around my frame and I’ve never felt like there is a place that I belong in more than here. I wonder if he knows that. If he knows that he alone can feel like home. They say home is where the heart is and my heart is in Duke Vale’s hands.   
“Next time, let’s fight together. No more fighting the world by yourself,” I poke at his cheek again.   
Duke moves his face so that he can kiss my finger. “You hardly need my help to fight. I don’t doubt that you could take entire squadrons down by yourself.”  
I beam at the praise but shake my head. His confidence in me is heartwarming, but I want him to know that he’s not alone either. Duke is more than capable of taking care of himself, but he no longer _has_ to.   
“I want to help you next time. I like helping you,” I press another kiss to his cheek, “So let me.”  
Duke is quiet for a moment but then he nods. A promise is sealed between us, a promise of not letting each other fight alone anymore, and I can see the weight of it in his eyes. It’s not easy for him to understand that he’s no longer alone.   
Duke has spent his entire life alone and having help is a foreign concept. He lost his parents when he was young, lived in a home that was more house than home, and put up ice walls to keep other’s at bay. For so long, the only company that he ever had was himself, so having someone in his corner is still new. It’ll take him some time to adjust to the fact that he now has someone at his side.   
It is imperative that he knows that I am here for him. He needs to understand that I am not made of glass and don’t need a knight in shining armor. He needs to know that it is okay to not have to be my protector all the time.   
I channel my thoughts to him through our empathy bond, pour as much of my love for him that I can, and stand on my tippy toes to kiss his forehead.   
_**You make me feel safe, Duke, let me keep you safe too**_.   
I close my eyes and let my lips stay on his forehead just a little longer. A little shudder passes through his body and some of the tension leaves his shoulders. He likes speaking through my powers more than he likes voicing his thoughts aloud.   
He moves his head so that he can kiss me again and his eyes are warm with affection when he draws away. One hand grabs mine and lifts my palm to his lips, the other pulls me further into his embrace.   
_I love you._  
The thought comes from him and I can feel just how much he means it. From the burning red of his cheeks to the fire in his voice, I can tell he means it with every fiber of his being. Duke Vale is not the kind of person to drop the L word lightly, so the fact that I am perhaps the only person he has ever said that to is a huge privilege I don’t take for granted.   
I rest in his embrace again, take in his familiar scent, and listen to the warm beat of his heart. I know no other paradise than this. Being close to him is more of a gift than heaven could ever be.   
I pour that into words, try to express just how he makes me feel, and try to fit the every atom of my body that loves him into our empathy bond.   
_I love you too, Duke Vale._


End file.
